Korn: The Path Of Totality Review

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Attempts to blend hard rock and dubstep yeild mixed results.

By Chad Grischow

Jonathan Davis and crew attempt to take their grimy brand of hard rock in a different direction on their latest album. Pairing with a handful of successful dubstep, drum and bass, and electro artists, the band attempts to meld the swirling industrial stomp of those genres with their own burly rock. While it is a ballsy step in a new direction for the band, at times recalling White Zombie ("Narcissistic Cannibal") while more often landing closer to Pendulum, the inability to balance the two sides of the hybrid make for an uneven album marked with great highs and disappointing lows.

When the experiment manages to balance the fierce guitars and the snarling stomp of the dubstep rhythms it makes for enthralling listening. The engaging mash of atmospheric haze, swirling electro beats, and meaty riffs punching their way through "Bleeding Out" and Davis' twisting vocals shooting through the balanced attack of muscled-up guitar and distorted synth on "Let's Go" deliver a fresh sound for the band without stripping away too much the core rock elements that earned them a fan base.

The album falters where the fuzzed out rhythms are allowed to overpower the roar of the guitars, as on the mud-soaked beat sloshing over the blurry snarl of overdubbed vocals on "My Wall" and sluggish, downbeat "Sanctuary". The clomping swirl of the beat blanketing the guitar on "Illuminati" is only half the problem, with the overstuffed production giving the song a claustrophobic sound as Davis' vocals frequently dislodge from the beat. Despite using several different producers on the effort, many of the songs feel like one homogenous lump of sound, with the slightly cleaner sound of "Burn The Obedient" only mildly distinguishing it from "Illuminati".

Of all the pairings on the album, working with artists from 12th Planet to Noisia, the best synergy seems to happen on the Skillrex produced tracks. Davis' vocals seem right at home slithering through the winding grind of the drum and bass beat ticking, tumbling, and stomping through "Chaos Lives In Everything", and the warped rhythm and heavier reliance on guitar on "Get Up!" swell to a fiery shout-along hook for proof that this is a great concept at its core; even if the album does not deliver as consistently as you might like.